Once again Roger Alan Wade makes his case for being one of the most criminally-underrated songwriters of our generation, releasing his newest album Bad News Knockin’ right before the end of 2014 through Johnny Knoxville Records, and rocketing himself near the top for the most notable songwriting efforts for all of last year.

As Roger will say himself, “Thank God for nepotism,” but the truth is Wade was making a name for himself from his own sweat as a songwriter in Nashville well before his crazy first cousin Johnny Knoxville was getting zapped by cattle prods, or putting Wade’s songs in his successful series of Jackass movies. The fact the two first cousins are famous (or in Wade’s case, mostly famous), is purely coincidental, and though Roger Alan Wade may not have the legacy and recognition of the Guy Clark’s and John Prine’s to the outside world (at least not yet), to others he’s a mastermind, and he continues to bolster his catalog from an undying hunger to match the licks of his songwriting heroes with each new release.

If there was a theme to Bad News Knockin’, contentment would be it. Don’t bother Wade with your schemes of how to get him to the big time, or pity him that he never made it there before. Wade is perfectly content with releasing acoustic albums that just feature him and his guitar, instead of sticking his nose in the hustle of trying to get recognized by releasing big production records, or by trying to pry the closed doors of Nashville open to land some commercially-oriented cuts in the current miserable climate.

Back in the day working for a publisher, Roger Alan Wade racked up selected songwriting credits with legends like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Hank Williams Jr., and Johnny Cash, including Hank Jr.’s #1 “Country State of Mind” from 1986. He’s been there and done that, had opportunities to rub elbows with his heroes, had some successes many songwriters and performers only dream of, and is happy now to just write songs for himself and for those who care to listen. He’ll call up his fellow Knoxville native Peewee Moore to play some lead guitar with him on a local TV or radio station, or leave town for a short stint of shows from time to time. Otherwise, he’s cool with staying at home and sewing his craft, and hoping to entice enough people to listen to keep his simple life of privacy and family afloat.

As RAW says on one of Bad News Knockin‘s offerings,

I just want me a yellow house in the country, way back off the highwayA swing on a screened-in front porch, a hammock in the hickory shadeI guess success to some folks, ain’t the same as it is for meI’d count myself one wealthy man, for a yellow house in the country

Following this theme, Bad News Knockin’ feels like a very personal album from Wade, even more so than his recent releases like DeGuello Motel and Southbound Train that strike a much deeper chord compared to some of his earlier albums at the height of the Jackass era—albums that featured songs like the irreverent “Butt Ugly Slut” or “Fryin’ Bacon Nekkid.” In the new song “Years Ago,” Wade expends no effort to make his personal story into fiction, while “I Lived The Life” once again sounds a thankful chord for what he’s been able to accomplish in his career.

I lived the life, I chased the dream. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change a thing. Been more than worth, the sacrifice. Don’t cry for me, I lived the life.

Bad News Knockin’ is reflective, but Roger’s not ready to be put out to the songwriting pasture just yet. “Red Shoes Blues” ingeniously makes use of women’s obsession with footwear into a form of flattery that will fit snug with many female listeners. He takes an older song of his called “Warm Spanish Wine” from an era when others were trying to make him into a marketable commodity, and makes it soar despite the stripped-down approach, marking not just one of the best songs, but one of the best performances of this album.

And despite the stern, almost defiant countenance Wade sports on the cover with the beads of sweat bubbling on his brow like Johnny Cash at San Quentin, and the title which seems to hint this album might be brazen and hard-edged, there’s multiple gospel moments on Bad News Knockin’; something that Wade continues to call on more and more as he ages. Using witty allusions and biblical locations to deftly craft songs that are more than just preachy sermons, these religious tunes showcase Wade’s songwriting skills just as much as his secular material.

The Roger Alan Wade proponent in me still wishes Roger had the drive to flesh out his music a little bit more to make the job of enticing folks to listen a little easier. But if you’re not intimidated to listening to the prototype, the songwriter in the raw, the words and wood and wire of an original inspiration and story and nothing more, the Roger Alan Wade experience can be quite a fulfilling one.

39 Comments

Jim McGuinness
January 3, 2015 @
10:56 am

Saw him in September at Bristol Rhythm & Roots as part of Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Review (Dale, Wade, Amber Digby), and I’ve got to say it was the worst show we saw all year. Dale’s “history lesson” stuff was bad enough. Then Wade comes out with a truly miserable batch of songs that found him laughing at his own jokes. Just awful. My wife and I had high expectations for Watson but left this show quite a bit early.

Dan, if it was the outdoor show, then that’s the one. I strongly disagree with that writer’s perspective. As for the show itself, it was poorly paced, bogged down by Dale’s anti-Nashville schtick and Wade’s songs. My wife and I both hated it, as did our nephew who was down from Baltimore for a visit. It was my first time seeing Wade and I wasn’t impressed. I’ve seen Dale a few times and used to like him, but his constant bashing of Nashville has grown tiresome. Shut up and play some music, Dale.

Jim, disagree all you want; it’s your prerogative. However, I am that writer. I’m not some blogger or weekend warrior, either. I make my living as a music journalist, have studied country music history in particular and music history in general all of my life. That you weren’t impressed says absolutely nothing in regards to the quality of that show, which was high. Now, if Roger was so “awful,” then how the heck could he have summoned such a heartfelt expression that is on his face in the photograph that’s on his new album? Well, just so you know: I took that photograph, which was taken at that performance. Roger was joking around some, yes, but he sure as heck was NOT joking when he sang “Johnny Cash has Died,” which is the tune that he sang when I shot that photograph. Hey, to each their own, but rest assured to everyone else who reads your comments: you are woefully incorrect.

Tom,Opinions about music are going to differ; In my opinion it wasn’t a good show. If you remember, that show dragged on and on, especially at the beginning when Dale was doing his stuck-in-the past, name-dropping “Nashville sucks” schtick. It made the entire thing difficult to sit through, which is why my group left shortly after Amber Digby hit the stage. If you’re going to put on a show, then bring it on. These folks didn’t, which was the most disappointing aspects of this year’s festival (there were others). As for Wade, I picked up his ‘Southbound Train’ recording due to something I read on here and didn’t care for it. Certainly an acquired-taste kind of guy, and I didn’t acquire it either by listening to ‘Southbound Train’ or by watching him at Rhythm & Roots. At least I gave him a try. I love this site and check out most of the music reviewed or recommended here. Some I like, some I don’t. But I normally check it out.

Btw, I’m local to Bristol and familiar with your work. I have 25 years as a professional journalist under my belt, including many years writing about music. I know my country and roots music as well, and have interviewed hundreds of musicians. That doesn’t make my opinions about music more valid than someone who doesn’t write about it, but it also doesn’t make it any less valid either. As a journalist I’ve always valued accuracy, and my comments about the Ameripolitan show in Bristol are not incorrect. I saw and heard what I saw and heard.

I need to get some popcorn going for this. It could go so many diff directions. Roger’s XM show is very witty, I could see why he would banter, crack jokes etc, it is who he is.
I can also see and have been to shows that dragged, the mood wasn’t right or the opener was a dud, sound was horrible, people next to you were smelly type of thing. you might not have liked based on what you hoped it would be. Kind of like the first time I saw Greg Allman but by the 10th time I saw him I was looking forward to that kind of show. My point is, even a great act can come off as a bad show if you had expectations for something else.
Myself, I have an eye on RAW and hope he makes it to my town some time.

When I was freshly 18 and had just bought a motorcycle my first trip was to Chattanooga to see Roger Alan Wade play. It was a dingy old dive bar and he played for probably 3 hours, by the end it was just a handful of friends and family. No other performer has taken me through the range of emotions that he did. Who else makes you laugh like an idiot then cry during “Johnny Cash has died” then angsty during “Brainerd rd.” The most underrated country artist in my humble uneducated opinion.

Hey Jimmy Mac, perhaps you should stay away from events like Rhythm and Roots that feature a lot of “singer/songwriters” and go see acts like Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line, perhaps they will keep your “25- year professional journalist” intellect entertained. Or maybe even jettison to the next Kanye show near you. Just trying to save you some trouble from listening to any those “miserable batch of songs” that may tell a story or have some substance.

This album has absolutely nothing to do with the show “Jackass,” and even if it did, judging music without listening to it because of extraneous circumstances is putting an unnecessary limitation on your musical experience.

Because in the last few weeks “Brian” has proven himself an insufferable troll that will tell you until he’s blue in the face how bad this website sucks, but still seems incapable of pulling himself away from it. Either he’s going to have to decide to be a proactive member of this comment community, meaning sharing opinions, but doing so with respect and insight, or responses are going to continue to cut deeper to the bone.

+++ Jim McGuinnness, you have an agenda. All that aside, I don’t give a damn if you bad mouth me. Don’t bad mouth my friends. The show you are referring to was a great show. Dale was great, Amber was great, and i was on my game, as well. Every time we hit the boards, we give it all we got, i assure you. Send me your address and i’ll send you back any money you spent. Don’t come to my shows and don’t buy my records and don’t bad mouth my friends. And, find yourself an agenda that ain’t so sad and obvious and stupid. You, my friend, can kiss my ameripolitan ass and kiss my brother Dale Watson’s ass. Sorry we didn’t bring no banjos. P.S. Kiss Amber’s ass too. &, another P.S. : i live in Chattanooga, and, from 120 miles away, late at night, i can hear nashville suckin’. +++ Roger Alan Wade

+++ …&, To, Trigger, Thank you, for being tough & fair & honest. Thanks for keeping this music alive. i can’t find a way to care about what most others think about me or my music. But, you matter. Because you are tough and fair and honest, with no suffocating, clown-assed agenda. Great work. Thanks again, God bless. +++ Kindest Regards & Enduring Respect, -Roger Alan Wade

Alright folks, for an innocuous album review, this thing has turned quite contentious. Let’s all make sure we’re respecting each other’s opinions, and that we keep this on the topic of Roger Alan Wade and his album.

I was not at Bristol Rhythm & Roots this year, so I can’t comment on that particular set of live music. My opinions were about this new album, and that’s the opinions I’d love to hear from other folks about. I have seen Roger live before, and enjoyed the show there as well. But if someone saw him live and didn’t enjoy the way he was featured, that’s their opinion. But I’ve seen artists put on horrible live shows and have great records, and vice versa.

I’m 7 tracks in and digging it so far. There’s plenty of records out there that are more of an assembly than a performance. I love these stripped down records. Just a dude singing his shit. Free range. No GMOs. Good stuff.

I had the pleasure of meeting (actually I introduced myself) Mr. Wade last year the morning after the Ameripolitan show in Austin. After I told him that his song “The First Time I Saw Waylon” was one of my favorite songs of all time and truly captured my own feelings, his response was was one of true appreciation and as sincere and authentic as his music. A real gentleman and exceptional artist.

I would have to agree, “The first time I saw Waylon” always reminds me of my youth and those 70s concerts of Waylon. Been chasing that sound ever since but have yet to find it. A few come close but I have come to find the sound at the end of the day cant be duplicated only covered. Love that song.

Jim, some folks don’t like Bob Dylan. Some even dislike Johnny Cash. Hey, there are even some who have issues with Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson and so forth. Well, there are educated opinions and uneducated ones. An educated opinion formulates upon the foundation of knowledge; an uneducated opinion builds upon little to nothing. From your comments, it certainly appears that your comments are based upon having little to no knowledge of the great – and yes, with an educated opinion I do mean great – Roger Alan Wade. Furthermore, your swipe at Dale Watson appears to be based more on style (i.e., you simply do not like the way he paced the show). Add it all up, and yours strike as opinions grown from an uneducated point of view. That’s not mean on my part; it’s an observation. Now, an educated opinion will notice flaws when present just as it will notice highlights. That said – and I have written this elsewhere, Roger Alan Wade is within the top five living singer-songwriters in America today. So what, he jokes around some on stage. Have you no sense of humor? What of Roger’s heart-shredding tunes? Oh, well, you apparently took no notice of those. Dale Watson, he’s a pioneer in an era that’s not birthing many of late. Together, Wade and Watson rate as trailblazers. Some folks get them and some folks do not. Apparently you are among the latter.

Regarding Roger’s new album, there’s nothing else quite like it or him on the market or stage today. Sans piano yet like Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Alan Wade and his new album “Bad News Knockin'” rate as killer with no filler. High octane lyrics of life fueled on passion and talent, guts and God….folks, there’s simply not another akin to Roger Alan Wade.

Tom, One of the top five living songwriters in America? I can think of dozens and dozens of living songwriters with better resumes than this guy, and will offer Dylan, Haggard, Springsteen, Kristofferson, and Guy Clark to give you just five. Obviously your opinion is clouded by the fact that you’re a stakeholder in Mr. Wade’s new album (having snapped the cover photo). As for he and Dale Watson being “trailblazers,” that’s a laugh. Trailblazers tend to bring something new to the table. They’re not stuck in the past. Watson has written an occasional good song, but nothing truly enjoyable since “Whiskey or God,” in my opinion. And even his good ones have tended to sound like someone else. The last Watson album I purchased, ‘El Rancho Azul,’ was long on inane drinking songs and short on any true inspiration. He’s a nostalgia act. And though I consider myself a roots music fan, I like to hear music that adds something new to what’s been done before. Watson doesn’t do that. And as I mentioned previously, I purchased Wade’s ‘Southbound Train’ and wasn’t impressed, and certainly didn’t hear one of the top five living songwriters in America (and uneducated me owns and has listened to thousands of albums). Yes, I do not “get” him. But my rejection of his music doesn’t come blindly. I gave him a fair chance to impress me, and he didn’t. There’s no “agenda” (as Wade himself accused me of). I just prefer to listen to — and spend money on — other stuff.

Jim, absolutely, Roger Alan Wade stands as one of the top five living singer-songwriters in America. Resumes have nothing to do with that. It’s not about volume; it’s about quality. One does not have to sell millions of albums to genuinely ascend as such. For instance, ever heard of Arthur Q. Smith? I’ll be you have not. However, if you have heard any number of Hank Williams’ songs, then you have probably heard a song that was written by the late great Arthur Q. Smith. As for my opinion being “obviously…clouded” because I am a “stakeholder” in Roger’s new album because I “snapped the cover photo,” you reveal yourself as one who assumes in a grossly incorrect manner. Number one, I wrote that he was one of the top five living singer-songwriters long before I ever “snapped the cover photo” for that album. Number two, I am not a “stakeholder” in his album whatsoever; it was done gratis (that’s free of charge, just so you will not become so confused again). Number three, I do not take snapshots. Photographs, yes. Snapshots, no. Furthermore, I stand by my trailblazers terminology by way of description of Watson and Wade. Makes you laugh, does it? Watson’s a “nostalgia act” you say. Oh, and Watson doesn’t add “something new to what’s been done before,” you assert. For your information, had you stuck around for the rest of the show and then the next day’s performance as well, you would have heard “something new” repeatedly. Watson performed a couple of songs that he wrote with Amber Digby while at the festival. Though you probably did not see them on the next day, I saw Dale finishing lyrics to a brand new song just before he stepped on stage to sing it with Amber for the first time anywhere. But oh yeah, he’s the guy who doesn’t have “something new.” Also of note before you feebly attempt to latch upon that, too, the song struck as quite different than anything I had heard Dale do on any of his albums. Oh, and just so you know, an educated opinion is one that’s derived from having heard more than an album or two. A person can listen to a million albums, but if all that person has heard from Roger is one album, then whatever opinion for his whole body of work that is gleaned from that lone disc amounts to an incomplete (i.e., uneducated) opinion. For instance, I’m not an authority on the music of Bjork. None. Whatever opinion that I may supply in regards to her music as such would classify as uneducated. However, I own and have devoured every note from every album released by Watson and Wade, just as I have for the majority of country music history in particular and so forth. Sinatra? Own and have combed every single tune. Dylan? Likewise with all that is available. The point? If the best you have by way of criticizing Watson is that he “has written an occasional good song” and that “El Rancho Azul” “was long on inane drinking songs and short on any true inspiration,” you leave yourself wide open. For one, it’s not constructive, your criticism. For another, such words as “written” by you come apparently from one who simply does not like the music of Dale Watson as opposed to one who actually knows the man’s music. Ditto Roger Alan Wade. Trailblazers? Yep, both of them. Again, not everyone will get them, is meant to get them or perhaps even should get them. You apparently do not get either Watson or Wade. Hey, some didn’t get Johnny Cash, either.

I have seen Roger at his worst – as well as at his best. On either side of the coin, you can’t dispute the fact that he is a talented and multi – faceted songwriter, constantly striving to improve his craft and refusing to write about the same material all the time. He’s never afraid to explore new bounds or to show his own vulnerability.

If other artists had the same dedication the RAW has, the music business and the radio landscape would be vastly improved.

Combine his passion for what he does with that incredible voice and you have an entertainer who knows what his audience wants .. and he delivers.

Some people don’t care for the finest single malt Scotch. Some people don’t like caviar. Some don’t like Cuban cigars. But in my experience, certain types of music, and musicians, are an acquired taste. Don’t disregard a man and his life’s work from one sampling. You’re shortchanging yourself.

Uncle Rog is one of the best southern American songwriters going today. I admire him as a man and cherish him as a friend. No need for whistles and bells, just a Guitar and the truth will work. He will win you over if you haven’t heard him. He is a modern day Johnny Cash with Townes Van Zandt meets Shel Silverstein songs. God Bless em!

I stopped reading after some comments above and I did not see Roger live at all, I’ve even never been to the USA. I’m from Germany and you don’t find music as good as this over here. All I can say is that Roger touched my heart with this record, again as with the previous ones. Just can hope that this is not the last record from him as I can’t find any any other songwriter like him!

Well, Roger has done just right again! Once more he has put his art on display held up with nothin’ but a Martin guitar, the English language, and songwriting chops to burn. I’ve had the good fortune to know Roger for about 30 years and I can promise that there is not a more genuine, generous soul walking on this planet than Roger Alan Wade! “Deguello Motel”, “Southbound Train” and now “Bad News Knockin” are as good from top to bottom as anything that’s ever been put out in this genre. And yes, before you ask, I’ve got everything Guy Clark, TVZ, Prine, Kristofferson, etc ever wrote, and I love them! I’m just sayin’ from the first cut on “Deguello” to the last cut on “Bad News” is songwriting that’s stronger than a garlic milkshake!

Great album. Caught me off guard initially, more religious than I had expected, but this album is another masterpiece like each and every roger alan wade album before it. Brilliant. Anyone who hasn’t enjoyed roger, I’d say start in the beginning. My favourite is the Stoned Traveler album. Followed mostly right now by the album in question, Bad News Knockin. Can’t wait for the next one! Hopefully soon?!